Nation Reacts To CT Elementary School Shooting [VIDEO]

Twenty-six people were killed, 20 of them children, after a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooter, is also dead. A tearful President Obama addressed the nation Friday afternoon.

Clearly struggling with the words — President Obama sought to bring comfort to a nation all too familiar with violence and tragedy.

(Obama) “We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years.”

At times pausing for composure and wiping away a tear, the President shared the grief of the fellow parents who lost children on this dark day.

(Obama) “I know there is not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.”

President Obama did not pursue gun control legislation in his first term, but in what may be a harbinger of things to come he said the nation must come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies regardless of politics.

READ a proclamation by the President Barack Obama honoring the victims of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut:

A PROCLAMATION

As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, December 18, 2012. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

READ a statement from Speaker John Boehner on the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut:

“The horror of this day seems so unbearable, but we will lock arms and unite as citizens, for that is how Americans rise above unspeakable evil. Let us all come together in God’s grace to pray for the families of the victims, that they may find some comfort and peace amid such suffering. Let us give thanks for all those who helped get people to safety, and take heart from their example. The House of Representatives – like every American – stands ready to assist the people of Newtown, Connecticut.”

READ a statement from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School:

“No words can console the parents of the children murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School or describe the pain and shock of such an unspeakable tragedy. No words can comfort the loved ones of those brutally taken from us today. All Americans share our prayers and our grief over these horrifying events.

We are all stunned, shocked, and distraught by this tragic shooting, by this violent act, and by the loss of so many young children. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the students, teachers, and educators killed and wounded in Newtown, Connecticut. The entire nation will continue to stand as a source of support to this community in the days and weeks to come.”

People impacted by other mass shootings in the country are devastated by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Beth Nimmo lost her 17-year-old daughter Rachel in the Columbine shooting. Upon hearing about the Connecticut shooting she said she’s extremely angry.

(Nimmo) “These parents they’re just gonna hurt so bad for so long and there’s not much you can do to console them.”

Pierce O’Farrill was shot three times inside the movie theater in Aurora this summer.

(O’Farrill) “I believe in the devil. I believe in an enemy that hates us and is trying to do anything in his power to essentially ruin our lives and force us away from God, and to me it’s the only explanation for evil this terrible.”